Author
Topic: Having fun now! (Read 2264 times)

OK, here's the interesting part. It's been a really fun several days with the bees. I've gotten calls for swarms and cut outs and we even started two trap outs from oak trees on Monday.

I went to a woman's house that I mentor this evening to help her untangle a foundationless hive that she hadn't touched in about 6mos. The hive was a total mess and had recently swarmed...I'm thinking within the last day or so. It was full of queen cells, some ripe, some which had emerged, and no sign of the queen. I took cells and what brood there was and pulled two splits off it giving each 4-5 cells. I also took away one nice cell and caught an emerging virgin and caged her. I put the cell in a cage as well and put them both in with the swarm from today hoping they will be safe. I'll transfer the swarm to an out yard in the morning and will see if the trap out(s) will take the cell and virgin. I hate to give the trap out(s) frames of open brood as the SHB have destroyed them when I tried this in the past.

I've only introduced virgins to a hive a couple of times...with success, but am a little worried about introducing one to a broodless trap out. We'll just have to see how this one pans out.

Scott

Logged

"In the first place, we should insist that if the immigrant who comes here in good faith becomes an American and assimilates himself to us, he shall be treated on an exact equality with everyone else, for it is an outrage to discriminate against any such man because of creed, or birthplace, or origin. But this is predicated upon the person's becoming in every facet an American, and nothing but an American...There can be no divided allegiance here. Any man who says he is an American, but something else also, isn't an American at all. We have room for but one flag, the American flag...We have room for but one language here, and that is the English language...And we have room for but one sole loyalty and that is a loyalty to the American people."

Great post pictures and wisdom going on, once again on BeeMaster I got to get across the state and meet you guysThanks for posting the picturesAs Emeril says Kicked it up a Notch This time a few notch's

Wow, never heard of that before. That was a great story, thanks for sharing it, Annette.

Apparently it happens sometimes. They fly off and then realize the queen hasn't flown out with them, so they all go back in.

I've watched many swarms that I have housed leave the catch box while the queen was caged. I've watched them leave a few different times on occasion and they always return.

It happens sometimes on site but usually happens IMO when they are hungry, before I've had the chance to feed them and when there is no significant flow on.

The swarm I housed March 1st is a case in point. They left twice to return, but once I began feeding them they anchored themselves. I released the queen the evening I started feeding them and they have been happy since.